Current vacancies

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, hope

Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Data Governance Consultant (Data Policy)

Section/Division/Duty Station: Data & Analytics, DAPM, Florience, Italy 

Duration: 1 December 2024 to 30 June 2025

Home/ Office Based: Remote

About UNICEF 

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

As an organization championing the well-being and rights of every child, UNICEF relies on data-driven insights to inform decision-making, prioritize interventions, and measure progress towards its mission. Correspondingly, UNICEF identifies data as a change strategy to accelerate progress across all its programme areas in its Strategic Plan 2022-2025. In the rapidly evolving landscape of data and data technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), UNICEF recognizes the critical importance of robust policies, procedures, and guidance notes to safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of data while maximizing its potential to drive positive outcomes for children worldwide. Clear and comprehensive data governance frameworks are essential to ensure that data is managed, protected, and utilized responsibly and effectively across all facets of UNICEF's operations.

In this context, the analysis and revision of existing policies and the development of a new data policy for UNICEF as complementary to existing policies such as the UNICEF Data Protection and Privacy policy are key steps to enhance the organization's ability to harness the power of data responsibly and securely. Moreover, in the decentralized yet collaborative environment of UNICEF's work, clarity around roles and accountabilities is paramount for seamless coordination and cooperation across various teams and stakeholders that work with data across country and regional offices and headquarter functions. By delineating and formalizing clear roles and responsibilities for working with data, UNICEF can facilitate cross-functional collaboration, streamline processes, and optimize resource allocation, enhancing its capacity to deliver meaningful results for children.

Scope of Work:

This undertaking is about reinforcing UNICEF's commitment to data-driven decision-making and ensuring that every action taken by the organization is guided by a steadfast dedication to advancing the rights and well-being of children worldwide. Through this work, UNICEF aims to cultivate a culture of data stewardship and collaboration, empowering its workforce to leverage data effectively while upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability. Building on a previous consultancy, which (a) analysed the existing regulatory landscape, (b) delivered a draft Data Policy including detail on roles and accountabilities, and (c) proposed necessary procedures and guidance notes under the new data policy, the Data Strategy and Data Governance team in the office of the Chief Data Officer at UNICEF is now seeking the support of a consultant with the following activities and objectives:

Activity 1: Revise the draft Data Policy to produce an advanced, near-final draft

• To develop materials in support of consultations required to put the draft Data Policy through the UNICEF formal process for the development of regulatory documents, specifically, the concept note, and to integrate feedback and other input from this process into the draft Data Policy
• To incorporate insights from an ongoing data capacity and organizational analysis (how data teams are structured) across Country Offices into the draft Data Policy to ensure it enables and advances work in Country Offices enabled by Regional Offices and Headquarters
• To incorporate insights from ongoing consultation on the strategic reorientation of the Planning, Monitoring, Data, and Analytics (PMDA) function into the draft Data Policy
• To conduct consultations with other UN entities on data governance processes and structures, including governance bodies, to produce recommendations on data governance processes, structures, and bodies from lessons learned at other UN entities, and to incorporate insights into the draft Data Policy
• Ultimately, to produce a revised, advanced and near-final draft of the Data Policy with all inputs incorporated from the activities described in the bullets above

Additionally, and “sitting under” the Data Policy,

Activity 2: Drafting procedures, guidance, and template TORs

• To draft (i) an escalation procedure; (ii) an implementation guidance note specific to at least one department or country office, and (iii) a template TOR for the new role of the Data Steward, introduced and formalized in the Data Policy

Finally, and to support implementation of the Data Protection policy (a complementary policy to the (draft) Data Policy issued in 2020) for consistency across regulatory instruments concerning data:

Activity 3: Support coherent implementation across adjacent policies

• Produce high-level guidance for the implementation of the Record of Data Processing (ROPA) as mandated by the Data Protection policy

This work builds on the deliverables from a prior consultancy, as mentioned above, and complements (a) the ongoing development of a framework (“blueprint”) for the structure of the data function and data capability building in UNICEF country offices (“data function blueprint”) and (b) the ongoing work on the strategic reorientation of the PMDA function in  UNICEF country offices supported by regional offices and headquarter divisions.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

• • Concept note on the Data Policy for starting UNICEF’s formal process for approval of regulatory document by 31 December 2024
  • A document summarizing conversations with UN entities on data governance processes, structures, and bodies including lessons learned, recommendations for UNICEF, including on data governance bodies for UNICEF by 31 January 2025
  • Revised, advanced, and near-final data policy with inputs from consultations incorporated by 30 June 2025
  • A template TOR for the new role of Data Steward formalized in the Data Policy by 28 February 2025
  • An escalation procedure that explains what Country Offices, Regional Offices, and HQ divisions should do when they require assistance resolving data governance issues by 31 March 2025
  • A guidance note for at least one Country Office or HQ division that explains how the Data Policy should be implemented within the context of the specific team by 30 April 2025
  • A document with high-level guidance on the implementation of the Record of Data Processing (ROPA) by 31 December 2024
  • Travel to UNICEF Innocenti (Florence) for in-person meeting with the Data Governance and Strategy unit for Data Policy late-stage review by 30 June 2025

Qualifications

Education:

• An advanced university degree (master's and/or PhD) in one of the following fields/disciplines is required: in law, in a data related field, in international development, in public policy, or another area relevant to the work outlined above.

Work experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in policy analysis for digital/data transformation and/or in data governance, meaning, best practices aimed at improving data accessibility, discoverability, quality, and interoperability.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:

• Experience in the development of policies, policy frameworks, procedures, and guidance documents
• Experience in project and stakeholder management with a proven track records to establish and keep to project plans and timelines.
• Experience in data protection and privacy programme design and implementation is considered an asset.
• Exposure or experience working with or implementing tools for implementation or partial automation of data governance is considered an asset.
• Experience working in a UN organization is required, prior experience in a policy or policy-adjacent (e.g., planning) role is highly desirable.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is considered an asset.
• Demonstrated strong writing and presentation skills. Strong analytical and interpersonal communication skills, attention to detail.
• Valuing teamwork and collaboration including the ability to foster excellent work relationships and to build alliances with multi‐cultural and multi‐disciplinary stakeholders simultaneously.
• Ability to manage and execute multiple tasks with little supervision while meeting sometimes inflexible deadlines.
• Demonstrated creativity, ability to think systematically, willingness, and ability to incorporate innovative solutions.

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

- Upload copy of academic credentials

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

• • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.